Abernathy Furniture Company Building

Established in 1856, Leavenworth-based Abernathy Furniture Company is "one of Kansas' earliest and most successful businesses." It was founded by brothers James, William, and John Abernathy. As their business grew, they expanded to Kansas City, opening their new plant in the West Bottoms in the following decades, likely circa 1880. The company remained successful for nearly a century, with its furniture gaining a reputation for being "of good quality and servicable." Ultimately, Abernathy was bought out by another company in the 1950s. After an expensive restoration project in 2016, the building was converted into apartments.

The Abernathy brothers hailed from Ohio but settled in Leavenworth, Kansas, just before the Civil War. At the time, Leavenworth was a thriving, growing city thanks to the business coming in from the nearby Missouri River. James Abernathy took advantage of this, choosing to start the family's furniture business there. When James went to serve in the military during the war, William took over the business, running it until his death in 1869, at which point James took it over. While William ran a store in Kansas City during his tenure, James was responsible for opening the company's second plant in the West Bottoms.

At the time, this neighborhood was the industrial hub of Kansas City, largely thanks to its proximity to the railroad. Abernathy also took advantage of this, as the company relied on trains to bring in lumber and ship their finished products. During the company's time in the West Bottoms, Abernathy became one of the largest employers in the area. As the company grew, the Abernathy building was expanded several times, eventually reaching a size of 300,000 square feet and stretching onto Ninth Street and Liberty Street. Most of the extended building is still intact today, although one of the extensions was demolished in the 1970s.

By the 1950s, most manufacturers who had found success in the West Bottoms had moved elsewhere, and the area was in decline. Around the same time others were leaving, Abernathy Furniture Company and both its manufacturing plants were bought out by the United Industrial Syndicate, Inc., and Davidson's Furniture Company. They subsequently sold the buildings and laid off some 100 employees. It is unknown what the building was used for after this. However, like many other West Bottoms buildings, it likely sat vacant for some time, judging by its poor condition as of 2016.

That year, MCM Company bought the building, as well as two adjacent ones, and partnered with design and construction companies for a $68 million restoration project. They cleaned and restored the red brick on the outside of the building while painstakingly working around the Abernathy Furniture Co. writing to make sure the building's history remained clear. MCM also instructed the construction company to leave the graffiti on the ground level alone. According to project manager Wayne Schasteen, "it was a really nice graffiti. They found the artists and had them come back and touch it up." Once this was done, MCM had transformed the deteriorated Abernathy building into the West Bottoms Flats.

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Collison, Kevin. First Major Renovation Project In Kansas City's West Bottoms To Start Soon, KCUR 89.3. July 23rd, 2018. Accessed November 11th, 2022. First Major Renovation Project In Kansas City's West Bottoms To Start Soon.

Rudge, Heather. West Bottoms - North Historic District - National Register of Historic Places Registration Form , Missouri State Parks. June 23rd, 2016. Accessed November 11th, 2022. https://mostateparks.com/sites/mostateparks/files/West%20Bottoms-North%20HD.pdf.

Abernathy Brothers Furniture, Kansapedia - Kansas Historical Society. Accessed November 11th, 2022. https://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/abernathy-brothers-furniture/16428.